(710) The Mexican Photo Album: Volume 2 Issue 7: Last Revision: 05/26/06
Recently we have been admonished for spending “way-to-much” time and effort on the gold coins and the Cap & Ray 8 Reales of the Republic even though we warned you early on that these were our primary areas of expertise. In an effort to widen our scope we have decided to change gears. For Part 3 of our look at the Dave Busse Mexican Type Set we will examine a few of the great decimal coins in Dave’s collection. The reason for skipping the Mexican Republic silver minor reales is that we are beginning a three part series about these coins in this issue. We always solicit contributions from our readers. Your input will help us cover more ground in subsequent issues of Mexican Coin Magic and that may well spark additional interest in all areas of Mexican Numismatics.
The 2nd Mexican Empire of Maximiliano
The most logical starting place for the third part of the Dave Busse Mexican Type Set of Silver Decimal Issues is the coinage of Maximiliano. I believe you will be more than a little interested and perhaps amazed at some of the wonderful specimens Dave has acquired in his 25+ years of collecting this series. The Maximiliano Series is popular for several reasons including but not limited to, the historical impact, the relatively small number of coins needed to complete it – acquiring all of the Maximiliano coinage may actually be achievable – and the challenge of searching for and acquiring some truly RARE coins, so let’s begin with the 1 Centavo.
According to Buttrey and Hubbard1 the only mint striking the Maximiliano 1 Centavo was Mexico City, and then only in 1864. However, they also point out that a set of Mexico City 1 Centavo dies was found in 1876 at the Zacatecas Mint. Thus, like so many other imponderables in nearly every area of Mexican Numismatics, it seems possible that at least some of the Maximiliano centavos may have been struck in mints other than Mexico City but that those mints utilized dies with a Mexico City mintmark!
FoxLair# 1C-Mo-1864-1101
There are seven DAMs noted in most catalogs for the silver 5 Centavos from four different Mexican mints. The “Key” coin in this series is the 1864 San Luis Potosi, mintmark P. This coin is Rare in its own right and Extremely to Excessively Rare in high-grade meaning Extra Fine or better. The average collector should be able to find at least one Mist State example from the Mexico City mint.
FoxLair# 5C-Go-1864-1101: Notice the clashed dies on this variety.
FoxLair# 5C-Mo-1864-1101
FoxLair# 5C-Pi-1864-1101
FoxLair# 5C-Zs-1865-1101
Most catalogs also list seven DAMs of the 10 Centavos from the same four Mexican Mints, Guanajuato, Mexico City, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. The “Key” coin in this series is the1864 San Luis Potosi 10 Centavos. Though the catalogs assign it a value much less than they do for the 5˘ from this mint, our experience has shown that it is equally difficult to find in high-grade. In fact, Tom Bankston once said to me, “I’ve seen two Potosi 5 Centavos and three Potosi 10 Centavos in high-grade, so you tell me which one is easier to get.” The average collector should be able to find at least one Mist State example from the Mexico City Mint.
FoxLair# 10C-Mo-1864-1101
FoxLair# 10C-Pi-1864-1101
FoxLair# 10C-Go-1865-1101
FoxLair# 10C-Zs-1865-1101
There is only one DAM noted for the silver 50 Centavo and it is not a rare coin though it can be elusive in Mint State. With patience the average collector should be able to find an Extra Fine or an almost Uncirculated example. In our opinion, anything in true Extra Fine or better and without rim problems is undervalued in today’s catalogs. A nice Mint State example will usually bring at least a 50% premium and as much as twice what they show.
FoxLair# 50C-Mo-1866-1101
There are four DAMs noted in most catalogs for the silver 1 Pesos from three different Mexican mints. The “Key” coin in this series is undoubtedly the Guanajuato 1 Peso. Not only is it a One Year Type Coin which makes it sought by Type Collectors, Mint Variety Collectors, Date Collectors, First Year Issue Collectors and Variety Collectors, it is Rare in its own right. The average collector should be able to find at least one Mist State example of the 1866 Normal Letters Variety from the Mexico City Mint. The 1867 Mexico City 1 Peso is somewhat scarcer than the 1866 and can be quite difficult to find in nice condition. The Potosi 1 Peso is similar to the Guanajuato issues but is not quite as rare. While many refer to it as a pattern, the FoxLair [Mo-1866-1101] variety with the Small Letters (Letras Chicas) isn’t thought to be so by Mexican Coin Expert Mike Dunigan. He explained that his reasoning is that most of the examples encountered are circulated, often quite heavily.
FoxLair# 1P-Go-1866-1101
FoxLair# 1P-Mo-1866-1101
FoxLair# 1P-Mo-1866-1102
FoxLair# 1P-Pi-1866-1101
FoxLair# 1P-Mo-1867-1101
This ends our third visit to the fabulous Dave Busse Mexican Type Collection. We would like to ask our readers what they would like to see next. So if you have something special you would like to see in visit four, drop us an email and we will try to comply with your wishes.
1Buttrey & Hubbard, A Guide Book of Mexican Coins: 1822 to Date 6th Edition
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